Reduction-furnace.



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(Application Bled Nov. 25, 1901.)

2 Sheets Sheet l.

(No Model.)

IN VENT OR IH www WITNESSES 04 TTORNE YS.

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N0. 7I2,l6|. Patented Oct. 28, |902. H. E. VOSBUHGH.

REDUCTION FURNACE.

` (Application filed Nov. 25, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

IN VEN TOR ATTORNEYS.

i UNrrnD STATES PATENT' FFICE.

HENRY E. YOSBURGH, 0F AUBURN, NEW YORK.

REDUCTION-FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Iletters Patent No. 712,161, dated October 28, 1902. Application filed November 25, 1901. Serial No. 83,616. (No model.)

To @ZZ-whom, t may concern.-

Bo it known that I, HENRY E. VosBURGH, of Auburn, in the county of Cayuga, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefullmprovementsin Reduction-Furnaces, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates' to improvements in red notion-furnaces.

The broad object of this invention is to produce a furnace which is adapted for the economical reduction of metals and minerals or carbonization of vegetable and animal matter.

Another object is to yutilize the heat from oil fuel in a closed combustion-chamber acting indirectly upon an inclosed mass of the material to be treated to reduce the same to the desired condition and to automatically conduct the resultant iiuid element or elements to some readily-accessible point, from which it may be drawn as desired.

A further object is to provide means whereby the heat of the furnace may be conducted into an inclosed mass to be treated at such points as are more or less liable to become congested or clogged.

Another object is to provide means for re-` ceiving and supporting empty crucibles or receptacles having matter adhering thereto within the sphere of heat of the furnace for cleaning the crucibles or receptacles within the combustion-chamber or for retaining one or a plurality of the crucibles or receptacles in a heated condition ready for use when desired.

A still further object is to provide for the drainage of any drip from the crucibles into a suitable catch-basin forming the base of the combustion-chamber and adapted to receive and support the molten matter of fluid resulting from the treatment of the raw material by heat; and another more specific object is to provide a shell or magazine for the mai terial to be treated which is self-feeding, indestructible, and is always adapted to receive additional raw material at one end and automatically discharge the treated material at its other end.

To this end the invention consists in the combination, construction, and arrangement of the parts -of a reduction-furnace, ashoreinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a. perspective view, partly broken away, of a furnace embodying the various features of my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken, respectively, on lines 2 2 and 3 3, Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the llower` portion of the furnace, showing particularly the drainage system for the molten or fluid matter resulting from the treatment' of the raw material.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Asseen in the drawings, my improved fur- 'nace consists, essentially, of a hollow closed the inclosing walls of a suitable combustionchamber 8. These walls are provided with an inner lining or casing of suitable refractory material, such as lire-brick or equivalent substance, adapted to resist the heat in the combustion-chamber 8,the bottom,side,front, and rear walls being incased in suitable iron 4or other metal plates, which are secured together by any desired form of fastening means, as bolts 9, which serve to hold the inner lining firmly in position and present a neat and trim external appearance, and also serves to support suitable closures and other external shelves, ledges, and troughs hereinafter described.

The bottom, side, and end walls 3, 4, 5, and 6 form a suitable catch-basin at the base of the comb ustion-chamber for receiving the molten matter resulting from the treatment of the raw material, the upper surface of the bottom wall being inclined longitudinally and transversely from substantially its longitudinal center and is adapted to cause the molten or duid material to gravitate and concentrate toloo ward a suitable sprue-opening in the base of the front wall 5. The side walls 4 are provided with inwardlyprojecting shelves or ledges 10 and 11 within the combustion-chamber 8 for receiving and supporting empty crucibles or receptacles for removing by heat any congealed matter which may have collected or adhered thereto, or these ledges may be used for receiving and supporting lumps or bodies of the raw material for the purpose of partially or whollyreducing the same previous to being precipitated into the molten or fluid matter in the catch-basin. These side walls 5 are also provided with openings 12 and 13, alined with the shelves or ledges 10 and 11, for receiving the portable crucibles or receptacles and the lumps of raw material which it may be desired to reduce or maintain in a heated or fluid condition and are provided with suitable closures 14 and 15, preferably hinged to the outer plates of the side walls and provided with an inner lining of refractory material, formin ga continuation of the side walls or lining of the combustion chamber when the doors are closed. The shelf or ledge 10 is provided with an inwardly and downwardly inclining face or chute 16,which facilitates the feed of the raw material through the opening 12 and into the catch-basin at the base of the combustion chamber, and also permits the automatic feed of the raw material from said inclined face when it is placed thereon for the purpose of melting or reducing the same. The shelf or ledge 11 preferably inclines downwardly and outwardly from its inner edge and is provided with troughs or grooves 17, the bottom walls of which incline downwardly and inwardly for draining any drip from the crucible resting upon said shelf or ledge into the catch-basin. The object in providing these shelves or ledges is that after the molten matter has been drawn olf from the sprueopening into suitable portable crucibles or receptacles, from which only a portion of the molten matter has been used, it is desired that the remaining portion be retained in a molten condition for ready use when desired, and it is for this purpose that I provide the shelves or ledges 10 and 11, upon which the crucibles may be placed within the sphere of the heat to the combustion-chamber and may be removed at any time when further molten matter is needed, and also to clean the cruci ble from the matter adhering to its sides or edges. In order to facilitate the removal and insertion of these crucibles orlumps of the raw material, I provide the walls 4 with outwardlyprojecting shelves or ledges 18 and 19, the shelf or ledge 18 serving to receive and temporarily support the crucibles or lumps of matter to be subjected to the heat and is therefore arranged in a horizontal plane, and the ledge 19 is preferably constructed and arranged in the form of a trough, inclining toward the front of the furnace and adapted to receive any drip or overiiow from the crucibles during the insertion or removal of the same to and from the ledge 11, it being understood thatasuitable receptacle (not shown) may be provided for receiving the drip from the end of the trough 19. The front wall 5 is also provided with an opening 20, registered with the upper face of the bottom wall 3 of the catch-basin, said opening being provided with a movable closure 2l, having an inner lining of refractory material, forming a continuation of the similar lining of the front wall when the door is closed. This door is provided with a sprue-aperture 22, also alined with the upper face of the bottom wall 3 and forms a suitable discharge-opening for the molten or fluid material from the catch-basin, from which it may he conducted through a chute or trough 23 into a crucible or other receptacle. (Not shown.) The opening 20 communicates with the combustion-chamber through the catchfoasin at the base of the combustion-chamber and is of suflicient size to conveniently admit the attendant to clean the interior of the furnace or to make any necessary repairs therein.

The rear wall 6 is provided with one or more apertures 23', which are adapted to receive the oil-conducting pipes 24 of any desired form of oil-burner adapted to discharge into the combustion-chamber of the furnace, but not necessary to herein illustrate or describe, as the particular form of burner forms no part of my present invention.

In order to render the operation of the furnace as nearly automatic as possible and for the purpose of drawing off the different elements resulting from the treatment of the raw material, I provide the outer shell or casing of the furnace, or rather the walls of the catch-basin at the base of the combustionchamber, with suitable openings 25, which preferably extend through the side Walls 4 beneath the shelves or ledges 10 and 11, for drawing 0E the lighter matter, such as the slag of the molten metals oroils and fats,when vegetable or animal matter is being treated. Although I have shown these openings 25 in a plane above the sprue-opening 22, it is evident that the exact relative position of these openings may be changed to conform to the requirements of the material being treatedas, for instance, in the treatment of a conglomerate mass of metals, mineral, animal, and vegetable matter, there may be a series of different elements resulting from the treat ment of the raw material of different specific gravities, which will automatically arrange themselves in strata or layers one above the other, and under such conditions it may be desirable to provide more than two openings, or,rin other words, one opening for each element of a diere'nt specific gravity from the others, this modication being within the scope of my present invention.

The upper wall 7 is provided with an open- Ioo Izo

ing to receive the stack or cupola 2, which closely lits within said opening and extends downwardly and upwardly therefrom, the

lower end of the stack being open and arranged in close proximity to or resting upon the upper face of the bottom wall 3 within the catch-basin at the base of the combustionchamber, and its front portion is usually cut away or separated from said bottom wall for permitting the discharge of the molten or fluid matter therefrom onto the upper surface of the bottom wall 3, from which it is conducted to the sprue-opening 22. This stack or cupola 2 preferably consists of a hollow tubular shell of refractory material, having its upper end provided with a hopper 25' and an opening 26 above the upper wall 7 of the combustion-chamber, and its lower end is provided with a series of apertures or perforations 27. The upper wall 7 is provided with a fire-passage 28, communicating with the combustion-chamberand with the opening 26, said openings 26 and 28 being provided with a movable closure 29 for cutting off the communication between the passage 28 and opening26. The object of these openings 26 and 2S is to admit the products of combustion to the upper portion of the stack or cupola at a point where the raw material is inserted in a cold condition, and therefore more or less liable to become congested or clogged, and by admitting the heat tothe said upper portion of the stack or cupola the material contained therein is softened or partially reduced,there by facilitating its automatic feed or gravitation downwardly through the stack. For a similar purpose I have provided the apertures 27, which extend through the walls of the cupola or stack and serve to admit the heated products of combustion to the interior of the stack for additionally softening or reducing the material therein and augmenting its feed through the stack to the bottom wall of the catch-basin.

It is thus apparent from the foregoing description that the stack or cupola forms a magazine-feed for the material to be treated and conducts the same from the hopper eX- terior to the furnace to a position in proximity to the lower wall of the combustionchamber and that any numberof these maga- Zines or cupolas may be employed in connection with the furnace, the portions of which projecting into the combustion-chamber and magazine being entirely enveloped by the products of combustion during the operation of the furnace. It is further evident that should the raw material become congested in the throat of the hopper or upper end of the cupola the closure 29 may be withdrawn from the openings 26 and 28, whereupon the products of combustion enter the lthroat of the hopper and soften or liquefy the material therein, so that the congestion isrelieved and the material readily feeds downwardly to the portion of the cupalo within the combustion-chamber, which is always maintained at a suflicient heat to melt or liquefy the material therein, which melted or liquiiied material readily passes out through the lower end of the chute, and by closing the sprueopening in any well-known manner the molten matter will readily rise within the catchbasin and the slag or material of lightest specific gravity will passoff through the openings 25, thereby maintaining a pure quality of molten metal when the furnace is employed for this purpose, or when employedas a garbage-reduction furnace the oils and fats will automatically pass off through these openings 25 and the liquid ofgreatest specific gravity may be drawn oif through the sprue-opening 22.

It is sometimes desirable to treat different materials in my improved apparatus and to collect the resultant elements intodierent compartmeutsiu the catch-basin, and I therefore provide the catch-basin with a partitionwall 30, which is preferably arranged lengthwise of said basin and extends upwardly from its inclined bottom wall, in which case the front wall maybe provided with as many sprue-openings as there are compartments, and I may provide a separate stack for each compartment operating in the same manner as the stack previously described, although it is evident that this partition-wall may be employed in connection with a single stack for subdividing the discharge product and collecting the same in separate compartments, from which the molten or fluid material may be drawn off through separate spree-openings leading therefrom.

In the operation of my invention the oil is permitted to feed through the conduits 23 into the burner, not illustrated, but is located to discharge the flame within the combustionchamber, which owing to its being entirely closed and free from any outlet-passages except as the closures are opened is quickly and readily heated to a very 'high temperature, thereby similarly heating the portion of the stack or cupola projecting into the combustion-chamber. The material is then fed by any desired means either manually or by a suitable conveyer mechanism to the hopper 25, whereupon it readily descends by gravity into the shell or cupola 2 and is subjected t'o the same degree of heat as the temperature of the combustion-chamber. This heat readily melts or liquees the material in the cupola, and owing to the arrangement of the vburners and the form of the combustion-chamber being entirely closed the lower portion of the cupola is heated first, which causes the liquefyiug of the lower portions of the material within said cupola, which liquefied material passes downwardly and outwardly under the lower front edge of the stack or cupola and may be drawn off as desired through the sprueopenings 22 and conveyed to a crucible or other portable receptacle.

sucient quantity of the liquid material has been drawn off for immediate demands the sprue is closed and the liquefaction of the raw material continues as long as it may be desired or until the burners are cut o from After a ICO IIO

the oil-fuel supply. If the molten matter thus drawn off in the crucibles has not been en tirely used, these crucibles may be returned to the furnace and inserted through either of the openings 10 or ll and supported within the combustion-chamber upon the ledges l0 and l1, the opening 13 and ledge ll being especially adapted for this purpose and any drip from the crucibles or receptacles while resting upon the ledges is readily conducted back into the catch-basin by means of the grooves 17, or if supported on the opposite ledge down the inclined face 16 and into the catch-basin. The inclined surface 16 of the ledge l0 is also especially adapted for receiving lumps or bodies of the material to be treated, which being subjected to the heat of the combustion-chamber readily softens or maybe forced over the edge of the ledge and into the catch-basin to mingle with the molten matter therein if this is deemed expedient.

The operation of my invention will now be readily understood upon reference to the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, and it will be noted that some change may be made in the detail construction and the relative arrangement of the parts of the furnace without departing from the spirit thereof. Therefore I do not limit myself to the precise construction and arrangements shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A furnace having a combustion-chamber and a stack extending into the combustion-chamber for the purpose described, said chamber and stack having passages connecting their interiors, and a closure for the passages.

2. A furnace having a combustion-chamber, a stack in the combustion-chamber and extending to the exterior thereof, said exterior portion of the stack having a tire-passage communicating with the combustion-chamber, and a closure for said passage.

3. A furnace having a com bustion-chamber and a fire-passage leading therefrom, a stack extending vertically through the combustionchamber and having an exterior portion provided with a re-passage, and means for connecting and disconnecting said passages for the purpose set forth.

et. In combination with the combustionchamber of a reduction-furnace having an inclined bottom wall and a sprue-passage, a

stack having one end extending above the up-` per wall of the combustion-chamber and provided with a tire-passage communicating with the combustion-chamber, and its lower end extending into the combustion-chamber and discharging onto said inclined Wall, and a closure for the fire-passage.

5. A furnace having a closed combustionchamber provided with a sprue-opening and a fire-passage, said chamber having its lower wall inclined toward the sprue-opening, in combination with a stack having one end extending above the upper wall of the combustion-chamber and provided with a fire-passage communicating With the former passage and its other end perforated and discharging onto the inclined wall, and a closure for said fire-passages.

6. A furnace having its combustion-chamber provided with a catch-basin in its base and a lengthwise partition dividing the catchbasin into compartments,in combination with a stack in the combustiorrchamber and having its lower end extended beneath the upper edge of the partition and adapted to discharge into one of the compartments.

7. In combination with the combustionchamber of a furnace having its bottom wall inclined, a partition extending lengthwise of the wall and dividing the lower portion of the chamber into compartments, said chamber having a spree-opening alined with one of the compartments,and a stack in the combustionchamber adapted to receive the material to be treated and to feed the resultant product into one of the compartments.

S. A reduction-furnace adapted for the burning of oil fuel and having the bottom wall of its combustion-chamber inclined and its upper wall provided with a fire-passage, said furnace having a sprue-opening at the low point of the inclined wall and provided with ledges projecting into the combustionchamber and draining inwardly for the purpose specified, and a stack receiving the raw material to be treated and discharging the resultant product or elements onto the inclined wall, said stack having a fire-passage communicating with the former passage and means to close said passages.

9. Areduction-furnace havingaclosed combustion-chamber provided with an inclined bottom Wall and sprue and tire passages, a ledge projecting into the said chamber and having an inclined surface draining inwardly one of the walls of the combustion-chamber having an opening alined with the ledge, a closure for the opening, a perforated stack in the chamber and extending through one of its inclosing walls, the outer end having a hopper to receive the material to be treated and the inner end discharging onto the inclined Wall, said outer end having a fire-passage and a movable closure for the fire-passages.

In witness whereof I have hereunto s'et my hand this 19th day of November, 1901.

HENRY E. VOSBURGH.

Vtfitnesses:

AMASA J. PARKER, W. H. MEAKER.

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